


'cause i know that it's delicate

by Dawn_Blossom



Series: Chrobinweek2018 but it's all Chrom/Grima [2]
Category: Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, American university because that's all I know - pretend Ylisse is a fictional state, Governor Chrom, Lucina and Chrom are cousins, M!Corrin is Nina's other parent btw, M/M, Misunderstandings, Nina's POV, Professor Grima, Professor Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 19:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16310975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Blossom/pseuds/Dawn_Blossom
Summary: Chrobin Week 2018: Day 2 - Prompt: Twins“An intervention?” Soleil laughs. “And what are we going to say?”“That it’s 2048 and ANYONE can be gay, even governors and professors!” Nina says.





	'cause i know that it's delicate

**Author's Note:**

> Look... I know some of you may be shocked and appalled to see Lucina/Robin when this is Chrobin Week but LISTEN she's Chrom's COUSIN and Robin is Grima's TWIN. It just worked out this way! The prompt was "Twins" and I already happened to have a Twins AU that I wanted to expand on. I couldn't just NOT write for this universe! (Also lol I know it's unconventional to have outsider POV... I'm sorry but Nina was just perfect to be the narrator here.)
> 
> Uh, the title comes from [Delicate by Taylor Swift](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCXGJQYZ9JA) and I KNOW what you're thinking but 1- this is a sequel to [so call it what you want (yeah, call it what you want to)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15310323) and I want to keep the title thematic and 2- Grima loves Taylor Swift in this AU... He just does. (3- Taylor Swift's music is catchy as heck, okay? I don't care whether you like her as a person or not; her music's still catchy)
> 
> Even though this is a sequel, I don't think you need to read the previous fic if you don't want to. After all, Nina doesn't know the history, either.
> 
> Anyway, uh, I hope you enjoy! ^^

Nina may be a creative writing major, but that doesn’t mean she’s got her head stuck in the clouds all day. No, no, she’s far more observant than most. Like Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew, her skills were honed from a young age. She has a sense for what makes a good story. 

Which is why she’s immediately drawn to the nervous-looking man sneaking behind the philosophy building and towards the building housing the philosophy, communications, history, and psychology professors’ offices.

Suspicious, she follows him from afar. She pulls out her phone, flicking through her pictures like she’s doing something important. She’s a student, so it’s perfectly normal for her to wander around campus with her phone out. 

The shady guy, on the other hand, is not a student. She knows the second he pulls off hood of the worn-out hoodie he’s wearing, because she recognizes that distinctive head of blue hair. It’s totally Chrom Naga, aka the state governor! 

If there’s anyone who shouldn’t need to sneak around, it’s the governor. This has got to be the lead up to something juicy, so she ducks behind a brick wall partitioning the buildings and waits for something interesting to happen.

Moments later, she gets her wish.

“Chrom, what the hell are you doing?” an amused voice drawls. 

Nina takes a chance and quickly peeks over her wall, catching a glimpse of white hair and… Wait a minute… She knows that man! It’s Professor Reflet, her Communications professor! She never would have guessed that he knew the governor. He seemed way too mild-mannered in class to be involved in a messy thing like politics. 

“Am I not allowed to visit the love of my life?” Governor Naga teases.

Nina’s glad she wasn’t drinking anything, because she would have spat it out in shock. Plot twist! The threads weave together in her head: an overworked politician and a shy college professor can only cure their loneliness in each other’s arms... A love affair that would shock the nation if it were discovered... Oh, the drama!

“Not in a thirty-year-old hoodie, you’re not,” Professor Reflet responds. “ _My_ thirty-year-old hoodie, I should add.”

Wow. Professor Reflet sure has aged well. Governor Naga has, too. They’re both pretty hot for people who must be as old as her dads, maybe even older.

“Well, I’m unrecognizable in it,” Governor Naga retorts..”You remember what happened last time I came around, don’t you? It almost ruined my reputation!””

Aha! So it IS something scandalous!

Professor Reflet huffs out a laugh.

“All right, all right. Come up to my office with me,” he says. “I’ll save you from the scary students and their social media.”

Nina peers over the wall again. This time their back are turned to her, so she watches a little longer. The governor leans over to place a kiss on Professor Reflet’s cheek, and Nina has to cover her mouth to muffle the squeal of delight that escapes her. This is just like something out of a manga, except it’s happening right in front of her!

Oh, she can’t wait to tell her friends about THIS!

Only, none of them are very impressed.

“I don’t know, Nina…” Forrest says hesitantly. “Are you sure that you saw what you thought you did? Remember back in high school when you thought Shiro and Asugi were, er, in a relationship?”

“That was different!” Nina protests. In her defense, how could anyone possibly have guessed that Asugi wanted to eat that entire can of whipped cream in a completely nonsexual way? “I SAW a kiss, okay? I’m telling you, my Communications professor IS in a secret relationship! And you won’t believe who it’s with!”

“I hope it’s not the cute TA in my history class,” Soleil says. “She told me we could meet up for coffee on Monday—”

“Oh my god, Soleil, this has nothing to do with girls!” Nina exclaims in frustration. “Can you guys start taking this seriously? My professor is seeing the GOVERNOR of YLISSE, okay?”

For a moment, her friends sit in stunned silence. Then, suddenly, the quiet is broken by a shout.

“Nay! It cannot be so!” Ophelia cries out. “You speak of our great leader as if he is not my own kin! I am certain that he would not forswear our sacred blood by embracing such deceit!”

“Ophelia, I thought you said you were going to cut that crap out now that we’re in college,” Velouria mutters, glancing up from the notebook she’s doodling in.

“R-Right…” Ophelia says. “What I mean to say is that… I don’t think the governor would be sneaking around with anyone. I’ve never met him myself, but Dad says that he’s, um… an honest and kind person, yeah.”

“Wait, Governor Naga is related to you? You never mentioned that before!” Nina exclaims. “But whatever, it doesn’t matter! I’m not saying anything bad about your family, okay? I’m sure he wants to be honest, but he’s a high-profile figure, so he can’t just do whatever wants or else people will talk about him! Isn’t that tragic?”

She stares into Ophelia’s eyes. Deep inside, Nina knows there’s a girl who loves stories just as much as she does.

“Think about it,” she continues. “Two men, deeply in love… Always longing for just a little more time together… But time and again, they are called back by society’s arbitrary demands…”

“Mm…” Ophelia mumbles, clearly struggling with herself. 

It should only take a moment now… And then, yes, her eyes begin to shine. 

“‘T’would be tragic, aye…” Ophelia places a hand over her heart. “O, cruel fate! What a torturous existence! The shadows in their hearts obscure the shining light of their moonstruck love!”

Attagirl, Ophelia. 

“I know!” Nina exclaims. “But it doesn’t have to be that way! What if we did something about it?”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough,” Velouria says, slamming her notebook on the table. “Nina, your schemes are always nuts. I’ve got more important things to do than set myself up for disciplinary proceedings. You know that’s what happens when you screw with professors, right? Ugh, call me if you all decide to actually do something NOT crazy this weekend.”

Velouria quickly collects her things and leaves. She probably just wants to go post her trash furry art online. Whatever. She sucks at subtlety, anyway. It’s better if she’s not around to ruin Nina’s plans before they start.

“... To be honest, I’m not entirely comfortable with this, either,” Forrest says, shifting in his seat. “I know you’re just trying to help, but… Well, sometimes your help just makes things awkward for everyone. I don’t want to be part of something that might hurt other people, and I don’t think you should be, either.”

“You don’t get it at all, Forrest…” Nina says, frowning. “I’m an adult now, you know. I’m not going to make some immature mistake that’ll mess up their lives!”

Forrest still looks uncertain. Scowling, Nina turns away.

“Fine. Go study or something,” she says. “Not that you need to, since you apparently KNOW EVERYTHING already!”

Forrest sighs heavily, but he stands.

“It’s not like I WANT things to go badly,” he says. “Just… Please, Nina, be careful, whatever you do.”

With Forrest gone, only Ophelia and Soleil are left to help her. Ophelia will stay, Nina is sure. As for Soleil…

“I don’t suppose you have anything to object to?” Nina asks, narrowing her eyes.

Soleil shrugs.

“Dunno. You haven’t told us what we’re doing yet,” she says.

“Oh… Right.” Nina pulls out a piece of paper, a grin spreading across her face. “Take a look at this!”

“A syllabus?” Ophelia murmurs.

“Professor Reflet’s syllabus,” Nina says. “Three to five on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You know what that means?”

“That he’s an idiot for thinking anyone’s going to come in on a Friday afternoon?” Soleil suggests.

“Oh, but that’s just it!” Nina says. “WE are going to come in on Friday afternoon. And we’re going to bring someone with us!”

Reaching into her bag, she pulls out a flyer advertising a very special event on Friday. Specifically, Governor Naga is scheduled to give a speech to the political science students from two to four.

“Okay, Ophelia, this actually works out well,” she continues. “Because you totally have an excuse to talk to your…”

“Cousin,” Ophelia supplies.

“Right, your cousin.” Nina nods. “So anyway, you go up to the governor and you tell him that Professor Reflet needs to see him RIGHT AWAY and that he sent you to go get him. And then you drag him over to Professor Reflet’s office, where Soleil and I will be making sure that he stays put. And then we stage an intervention!”

“An intervention?” Soleil laughs. “And what are we going to say?”

“That it’s 2048 and ANYONE can be gay, even governors and professors!” Nina says.

“Hell yeah!” Soleil claps her hands.

“The flow of true love cannot be stymied by the silent dam of… of silence!” Ophelia adds.

And with that, the plan is set. The only hard part is waiting until Friday. In the meantime, Nina makes sure to ask a lot of questions in Professor Reflet’s class. It’ll lay a good foundation for when she comes to his office hours later.

Finally, the day arrives. She sends Ophelia off to listen to Governor Naga’s speech at two o’clock. She and Soleil can’t go to Professor Reflet’s office hours until three, Nina tries to give Soleil a recap of everything she’s learned in Communications.

But… Soleil isn’t really listening.

“Hey!” Nina slams a book down in front of Soleil when the girl has the nerve to blatantly start texting in front of her. “Pay attention, will you? How are you going to keep up if you don’t know anything about the class?”

“I’m listening, I’m listening!” Soleil waves a hand dismissively. “But hey, we’re going to wrap this thing up by five, right? Because my cute TA wants to meet up with me at six!.”

“Seriously, Soleil? That’s so inappropriate!” Nina rolls her eyes. “But yeah, sure. Ophelia and the governor should be joining us a little after four. I don’t think it will take that long once we get them together.”

At three, she and Soleil dutifully head up to Professor Reflet’s office. It’s on the eighth floor, tucked away in a corner as far from the elevators as possible. It’s the perfect place to have a secret affair, actually. Nina can’t help but daydream a little…

“Miss Kamui?” a voice suddenly interrupts her thoughts. When did Professor Reflet get right in front of her? “Miss Kamui, was there something you needed?”

“Oh, hiiii Professor!” Soleil says loudly, pushing into the office and dragging Nina with her. “Oh my gosh, Nina has told me SO much about you! She was reading for your class earlier today, and she had some questions, and you know, it was just SO interesting that I decided I had to come with her to talk to you! Right, Nina?”

Nina nods quickly.

“I hope that’s okay!” she says. “I just thought, hey, you’re a Communications professor, and what’s more communicative than talking, right?” She laughs.

“I don’t mind,” Professor Reflet says, smiling kindly. “I’m happy to speak with you both.”

“Oh, great—” Nina starts, but she’s immediately interrupted by a squeal.

“Is this the Awakening series?” Soleil asks excitedly, pointing to a line of books on the professor’s shelf.

Professor Reflet’s smile widens.

“Yes, it is!” he says. “Are you familiar with the books?”

“Uh, familiar? It’s only my favorite series EVER!” Soleil says. “I love me some sword-wielding ladies!”

Professor Reflet laughs.

“There certainly are plenty of those,” he says. “Do you have a favorite?”

And somehow, they manage to spend a whole hour talking about the Awakening series. Nina has heard of the books, of course. The series was a worldwide bestseller. But she’s never really seen the appeal of them. There’s no romance, not even between side characters! Where’s the fun in that?

That being said… the way Professor Reflet and Soleil talk about the characters, they almost sound like real people. Maybe she should give the books a shot… For research purposes, at least. If she’s going to be a great writer herself someday, she ought to know her competition.

Nina is ashamed to admit it, but she actually loses track of her purpose for a moment. When Ophelia bursts into the room, tugging a panting Governor Naga behind her, Nina turns around with as much surprise as Professor Reflet.

“Chrom? Are you okay?” Professor Reflet asks, immediately getting to his feet. “Did something happen?”

Ooh, this is better than Nina could ever have imagined. Professor Reflet moves beside the governor, placing a hand on his back to steady him. It’s so… intimate.

“ _Did_ something happen?” Governor Naga asks. “Ophelia said you needed me immediately.”

Everyone’s gaze shifts to Ophelia. She shifts her weight, but she speaks with her head held high.

“Your chosen heroine has saved the day,” she says. “You need no longer bear the pain of separation, o great sirs!”

Professor Reflet places a finger against his mouth in thought.

“Are you… Are you, by any chance, Owain’s daughter, Ophelia?” he asks.

“Ah! You know the true name of my father!” Ophelia exclaims. “You must possess power beyond measure!”

“Perhaps I do,” Professor Reflet chuckles.

Governor Naga chuckles as well.

“It’s been too long since we’ve seen Owain,” he says. “Emm and Lissa, too…”

“I suppose it’s more difficult to keep in touch with family when they don’t live two houses down from you,” Professor Reflet says. “Heh… Did your father put you up to this, Ophelia? Or did you get the idea on your own? EIther of you could have just called, but I suppose that wouldn’t be your style…”

“Um…” Ophelia turns to Nina, panic in her expression. “Um… My comrade has something to say!”

“U-Um…” Nina says. She was caught off guard, but that’s okay. She knows what she’s doing. Taking a deep breath, she continues. “I just wanted to say that I think your relationship is really great… And you really shouldn’t hide it! I mean, you weren’t very subtle, kissing right on campus and everything… I know it looked like nobody was around, but I was around, and um… Well, I think you should just be open about it! Because it kind of looks shady when you sneak around, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of! Two men loving each other is a beautiful thing!”

Professor Reflet and the Governor do not speak at first. They just stare at Nina with identical looks of surprise. 

After a moment, Professor Reflet looks down.

“I… I have a wife,” he says weakly.

Nina blinks, taken aback. That’s not what he was supposed to say! This wasn’t supposed to happen at all! A clandestine love story is one thing, but cheating is quite another.

Did… Did she make a mistake, getting into this?

“Er, and I have a husband,” Governor Naga says, patting Professor Reflet on the shoulder. “One who is not Professor Reflet, I should add. Or, well, he’s Profesor Reflet, but not… Mine does philosophy. Er—”

“Chrom, what the hell was that?” a loud voice suddenly interrupts. “I thought you were going to do your usual meet-and-greet shit. Imagine my surprise when I look over and see my husband sprinting away! If you didn’t want to become a meme, that wasn’t the way to do it!”

Nina stares. In the doorway stands a practically perfect replica of Professor Reflet. He’s got the same feathery white hair and dashing figure, and ohhhh, they must be twins.

Now that’s a fantasy Nina could daydream about for a LONG time.

Professor Reflet breathes a sigh of relief.

“Miss Kamui, I think you must have met my brother,” he says. “Grima here has been married to Chrom for over two decades. And I’m married to Chrom’s cousin Lucina, if you wanted to know.”

“L-Lucina?” Soleil pipes up. “You… You don’t mean… It’s a coincidence, right?”

“Yes, it’s the same Lucina who wrote the Awakening series.” Professor Reflet smiles tenderly. “The first book was published just before our wedding, actually.”

While Soleil is over there vibrating with fangirl energy, Professor Reflet’s brother—Grima, though apparently he’s also a professor—scowls as he glances between Professor Reflet and Governor Naga.

“Do I want to know what’s going on here?” he asks. “You still haven’t told me why you left, Chrom.”

The governor sighs, stepping closer to… That’s right, he’s married to Grima. Nina WASN’T imagining things! She just didn’t know there were twins involved! Oh, the story is back on track, and in such a wonderful way, too! 

“You’re not going to believe this,” Governor Naga says, placing a hand to his lips. “But apparently some students saw the two of us together and thought… That you were Robin, and that Robin and I were in a secret relationship.”

Grima crosses his arms.

“You’re shitting me,” he says. As the governor tries and fails to stifle laughter, Grima’s lips begin to twitch. “You’re not?”

Governor Naga shakes his head vigorously, and Grima rolls his eyes.

“”Kids these days,” he says. “They’re almost as dumb as we used to be.”

Nina flushes, a pool of embarrassment pooling in her stomach. Maybe Forrest was right… Maybe she got too carried away again… But… Who would ever suspect TWINS?

“Um… I think maybe we’d better go…” she says. “Soleil, don’t you need to get ready for your date?”

Soleil finally snaps out of her fangirl trance.

“You’re right!” she exclaims. “I only have an hour to get ready! Come on, let’s go!”

“Farewell, my terrifying and powerful cousins!” Ophelia says. “If fate so wills it, we shall meet again!”

Nina doesn’t have anything good to say for herself. She kind of just wants this whole embarrassing thing to be over. But luck isn’t on her side.

“Wait, Miss Kamui! Didn’t you have a question for me?” Professor Reflet asks. “Or… Did you only come here to, er…” He gestures vaguely between himself and the governor.

“Um… Actually, I do have a question,” she says, her face reddening. “When you’re wrong… Really, really wrong… How are you supposed to apologize?”

She really has to apologize to her professor, and his brother, and the governor, and probably Lucina too even though she doesn’t know her. And she should probably talk to her friends, too…Forrest and Velouria were right this time, and Soleil and Ophelia got dragged into this for no reason.

But it is not Professor Reflet who gives her an answer.

“Trust me on this one,” Grima says, giving the governor a heavy look. “Whatever you do… Apologize from your heart.”

Governor Naga brushes a hand through his husband’s hair. The action speaks so much of the underlying affection between them. There’s a story there, if Nina could only find it…

But for once, she decides to leave it alone.


End file.
